Pope Francis opened his first encyclical, Evangelii Gaudium, with these words: “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ, joy is constantly born anew” (EG 1).
What is the source of this gospel joy in St. Vincent’s life?
First, for St. Vincent, the resurrection of Jesus is the source of our joy. His victory over death is the source of our own rebirth. In a conference in 1654, St. Vincent said: “The Lord has freed us from eternal death by his grace, and by his resurrection, he gives life to our bodies.”
How does the Lord do this? He pours into our hearts the gift of Easter through the Eucharist: “for in Holy Communion, we receive the seed of the resurrection.” Echoing Pope Francis, only through one’s encounter with Christ in the Eucharist shall joy burst forth into our lives.
Second, St. Vincent finds the resurrection of Jesus in the person of the poor. The poor are the personification of the risen Christ. Many times, he said these phrases in his teachings:
— “To serve the poor is to serve Jesus Christ. You serve Jesus Christ in the person of the poor, and this is as true as that we are here present.”
— “Ten times to visit the poor in the day, ten times you see God there.”
— “Let us cherish the poor as our masters, since our Lord is in them, and they in our Lord.”
— “The poor, when viewed with the eyes of faith, take the place of Christ and so give us the opportunity to love and serve them.”
Third, for St. Vincent, the resurrection is the source of our charity and the model of our mission. We need to “do what the Son of God did on earth,” that is, to render compassionate service.
In the Common Rules of the Vincentians, he wrote: “We read in Sacred Scripture that Our Lord Jesus Christ, sent on earth for the salvation of the human race, did not begin by teaching. He began by doing… He then went on to teach, by preaching the good news of salvation to poor people, and by passing on to his apostles and disciples what they needed to know to become guides for others.”
St. Vincent understood this well. Christ is risen, and he rises in the person of the poor and in the untiring mission carried out in his name by his disciples. What he did, what they did, we do now. This is the source of our Easter joy.
How did St. Vincent radiate this Easter joy in his life and person?
We have the impression that Vincent de Paul was not quite a happy person. Seldom do we see a smiling or laughing St. Vincent. His first biographer, Louis Abelly, described him as having a “bilious and melancholic character.”
On March 28, 1659, he humbly confessed before the community: “I lose my temper, I change, I complain, I find fault … at other times I am very brusque with some [people] and speak loudly and harshly … other, boorish persons like me, present themselves with a stern, gloomy or forbidding expression.”
Pope Francis wrote this about joy: “I realize, of course, that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. I understand the grief of people who have to endure great suffering, yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of faith revive as a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress” (EG 6).
We have seen how Vincent endured great suffering—from a life of poverty in childhood, years of slavery in a faraway land, and years of internal struggle during his dark nights. He was also in contact with thousands of poor people who endured cruelty and pain in their everyday lives. These circumstances did not allow him the luxury of boisterous laughter or blissful ecstasy. They shaped his personality.
But this does not mean that Vincent did not exhibit a joyful countenance. One author called his kind of humor “comic irony” (cf. Antonino Orcajo).
“His Gascon character was prone to exaggeration, yet his conversation was very appealing, which could be viewed as a sign that he was not as dry as he said he was. We know that he was able to combine seriousness with humor and the pleasant with the useful.”
His conferences were lively and witty. His gestures, voice, clever witticisms and colorful anecdotes show that he was an engaging and even jovial speaker who could convince and motivate his audience. It must have been very interesting to listen to his conferences. Brother Ducournau, Vincent’s secretary, wrote: “Each individual is very attentive when he speaks, many are delighted to listen to him, and those who are absent often ask what he said, expressing their regret at not having been present.”
But beyond personality, for St. Vincent, Easter joy must be understood in the context of service to the poor. We must go to the poor by “greeting them cheerfully and kindly.” The poor already live in very difficult conditions every day. Our encounters with them should not add to that burden. Our smile and kindness can offer comfort and hope.
In the film Monsieur Vincent, the elderly Vincent de Paul gives his final advice to Jeanne—a fictional character, a young Daughter of Charity about to serve the poor for the first time:
“You will find that charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the kettle of soup and the basket of bread. But you must keep your gentleness and your smile. Giving soup and bread isn’t all that the rich can do. You are the little servant of the poor—the servant of charity—always smiling and in good humor.
“They are your masters—terribly sensitive and exacting, as you will see—but the uglier and dirtier they are, the more unjust and bitter, the more you must give them of your love. It is only because of your love—and only your love—that the poor will forgive you the bread you give them.”
Father Daniel Franklin Pilario, C.M., is the President of Adamson University in Manila. He is a theologian, professor, and pastor of an urban poor community on the outskirts of the Philippine capital. He is also the Vincentian Chair for Social Justice at St. John’s University in New York.
